Thanks for all of your help

[lkmamom]

Well, this newbie HAL is now converted!!! We have just returned from our Zuiderdam cruise to Alaska and it was absolutely wonderful. Thanks so much to Cruise Critic, because all of your very helpful advice helped to make our cruise even more enjoyable. This was our third cruise to Alaska, the other two being with Princess. We would all have to agree that this cruise was the very best. I have most of the daily cruise papers, so if anyone has questions, I am very glad to help.

Linda

[jhannah]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, Linda. We have sailed Princess in the past, and they have a fine product. But there's just something special about HAL ships and crews that keep bringing us back.

 

Guess it's time now to plan your next cruise! :cool:

[Copper10-8]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise, Linda. We have sailed Princess in the past, and they have a fine product. But there's just something special about HAL ships and crews that keep bringing us back.

 

Guess it's time now to plan your next cruise! :cool:

 

Ditto! Glad you had a nice time, Linda

[Ferry Watcher]

Linda,

Can you tell us about your kids experiences on the Zuiderdam?

Were they happy with Club HAL and the teen center?

Was there enough for them to do on the sea days?

What shore trips or excursions did they do. Did they have any favorites?

What type of cabin did you get? Did you book early or late?

Did you book w/HAL, a TA, or an online TA?

Any other tips or suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Mary

Hope to be on the Zuiderdam Alaska 2007 w/DDs 16 & 7

[sail7seas]

Welcome Back, Linda.

 

SOOO happy you had such a great cruise. Also really happy the people here at CC were helpful to you.

 

Busy planning your next cruise yet?? :)

 

[lkmamom]

Linda,

Can you tell us about your kids experiences on the Zuiderdam?

Were they happy with Club HAL and the teen center?

Was there enough for them to do on the sea days?

What shore trips or excursions did they do. Did they have any favorites?

What type of cabin did you get? Did you book early or late?

Did you book w/HAL, a TA, or an online TA?

Any other tips or suggestions?

 

Thanks,

Mary

Hope to be on the Zuiderdam Alaska 2007 w/DDs 16 & 7

 

Mary, we all really enjoyed the Zdam. To be honest, it was a bit of a surprise at first.This was our third trip to Alaska and all of the other cruises that we have taken have been with Princess. If you are used to looking at the interior of Princess and then looking at the Zdam, well, it takes some getting used to;) not bad, just different.

 

Our son is sixteen, there did not seem to be a lot of teens onboard our sailing and he chose not to participate in the activities but was given a card each evening with the activities that would be going on. If you want, I can look through the mountain of stuff I brought back and give you some ideas. I remember activities like bingo and karaoke(sp?) and golf putting, you get the idea. I did notice that a lot of the younger kids were following two of the staff around with an activity maybe a scavenger hunt. I was very impressed ay how they kept track of the children, there were a lot. The staff were very attentive and the children seemed to love them.

 

The whale watch in Juneau is a must do!!!!It is absolutely amazing and you will never forget the experiance.I think kids (and adults;) of all ages would enjoy this!) The White Pass railway excursion in Skagway was pretty neat. We all enjoyed that as well. Cruising through Tracy Arm and Glacier Bay is amazing. We have never had the opportunity to see both in our other cruises and so we felt very happy to have two in one trip! I don't know, our son loves nature so watching the world of beauty go by is great with him. Sometimes you are lucky and see a whale ( we saw many this trip)but I could really see where some kids would be bored with the sea days. There was a DVD player in our room and I know that our son watched some DVDs that we had brought along with us (we had a portable DVD for the plane ride)

We had an SS Veranda suite. It was absolutely perfect for our family. There was a lot of room for everyone and we never felt cramped. The balcont was devine! My husband attended a medical meeting this trip so we actually booked early. We went with an online TA and have been very happy with their services as we have used them before. They were able to actually get us a much better rate than the agency sponsering the meeting.

The weather was amazing. We took way too much stuff, it was actually warm in Juneau! I notice that you are going in Aug.. When we went in Aug, I was kicking myself because I did not pack a turtleneck, so I guess you can never tell. Take advantage of their laundry services onboard. You can fill a bag with as much as you can stuff,(my husband had a ball with that and he stuff a ton:rolleyes: ) it all came back folded neatly in a tissue lined basket ( I thought he had sent me a present!!) and shirts and even tee shirts were on hangers, all for $12.00. Again, with Princess, I have always used their self serve laundry so packing was an issue this cruise. Take my advice, leave the excess sclothes home and let them do your laundry, it is great!

Anything else I can help with just let me know. This is an amazing cruise and the staff on HAL are just wonderful each and every one of them. We loved our cruise.

Linda

[Ferry Watcher]

Linda, thanks so much for your reply. Your infomation was very helpful, especially the advice about a personal DVD player for the older child, using the laundry service (and not overpacking) and booking a SS Veranda suite. I had similar thoughts on the shore excursions (Capt Larry's and the White Pass train ride), but it was great to hear from another mom that these excursions were kid friendly.

Now I need to start stragetizing how to plan, book and pay for this 2007 family trip!

Thanks again!

Mary

Westerdam Alaska 2006